Applying Design Thinking to Research Political Science’s “Wicked Problems”: A Pragmatic and Abductive Approach

Design thinking has gained prominence as an innovative, human-centered methodology for addressing complex problems across disciplines. Despite its widespread application in fields such as business and education, its potential as a research tool in political science remains underexplored. This paper presents design thinking method as a robust qualitative research methodology suitable for examining comparative social and public policy, governance, and political systems, especially contested and value-laden social problems. By aligning the iterative, abductive processes of design thinking with the principles of pragmatism, this framework offers a novel approach to addressing the multifaceted empirical challenges in areas such as health policy, environmental governance, political campaigns, and evidence-based policymaking. Through a six-phase standardized framework and actionable templates, this manuscript demonstrates how design thinking enables researchers to generate insights that bridge theory and practice in political science.